messinger



May 21, 1946.

G. s. MESSINGER "2,400,703 'DISTRIBUTOR FOR DUST APPLYING MECHANISMS Fi led June 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l y 1946. G18. MESSINGEIR 7 2,400,703

DISTRIBUTOR FOR DUST APPLYING MECHANISMS Filed June 12, 1942 2 Sheets$heet 2 v E\ ill/j I /4* Z 7 Z/ 22' 3/ 1% Z %d 5/ Patented May 21, 1946 ms'rmnu'ron FOR nus'r APPLYING MECHANISMS 1 George S. Messinger, Tammy, Pa., assignor to.

,Messinger Manufacturing Company, Tatamy, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 12, 1942, Serial No. 446,802

' vonims, (01. 302-28) For the purpose of controlling insect attack on growing plants by the application of poisons in the form of dust it is essential that all surfaces of the leaves and stems of the plants undergoing treatment be actually dust coated. Numerous types of machines or mechanisms for actually applying the dust to such leaf and stem surfaces have heretofore been designed or suggested, some of which are of substantial sizeand mount-'- ed upon wheeled supports and others of which are ofrelatively small size and intended to be borne manually. In the treatment of large numbers of plants growing in fields it is most convenient and economicalto employ dusting apparatus which comprises means for the application of dust simultaneously to a number of plants and one apparatus for efl'ectively accomplishing this operation i disclosed and illustrated in Patent No. 1,716,970, issued June 11,1929.

In the dusting apparatus disclosed in that patent there is, mounted upon a frame suitably supported upon wheels. a means for creating a rapidly iiowing stream of dust-laden air, together with a plurality of nozzle-like devices for directing a plurality of minor streams of dust-laden air toward and against the leaf and stem surfaces of a number of plants simultaneously, together with a distributor or means for dividing the major stream of dust-laden air originally generated into a plurality or minor streams, one for each nozzle. While it is found that the mechanism employed for originally creating the high velocity stream of dust-laden air is highly efficient in operation, difliculty has been experienced in dividing this major stream into the numerou individual minor streams which pass to the individual spray nozzles, it havingbeen-found that, notwithstanding the exercise of great care in the construction of the distributor, that certain of the smaller streams of dust-laden air contain substantially more dust than others, certain surfaces of the plants being, therefore, coated too heavily and other surfaces too lightly, and one plant of a number being simultaneously dusted being more than adequately covered and another plant less than adequately covered.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved and more efficient means for dividing a major stream of dust-laden air into a plurality of minor streams, each such minor stream transmitting approximately the same amount of dust as any of'the others. Segregation of dust and it concentration in any one of the issuing minor streams is not only prevented but the mechanism is so constituted that it may'receive from the origina dust and air mixing machine a major stream in which the dustis by no means uniformly distributed throughout the air but will nevertheless deliver to the several distributing nozzles minor streams in which there is substantially uniform distribution of dust throughoutthis despite the action of centrifugal force, the force of gravity, skin friction, and other factors which tend to promotesegregation;

Essentially the improved distributor includes a casing having a relatively large port at one end through whichthe incomingmajor stream of dust laden air may pass, a circular serie of relatively'smaller ports at orvtoward its oppositeend through which the several minor streams of dust-laden air mayescape and a rotor or rotatabledirecting member intermediate the inlet port and the series :of outlet ports for-acting upon'the incoming stream and causing it to-be directed toward each ofthe outlet ports in rapid succession, the directing member revolving very rapidly about a fixed axis and being 'so designed and. constructed that, whileit performs its directing or distributing functions most efiiciently, it does not at any time comprise a positiveblock between the inlet port and any oneof the several outlet ports. distributor and its precise method of; operation will be hereafter described'but it;wi11 be under stoodv by'one skilled in the art that the form of the invention which has been selected for disclosurevis setforth by way of example only and that, in adapting the invention to the handlin ofv different types ,of dusting materials, and the treatment of different types of plants, its .de--

tails of construction and arrangement of eleparturefrom the invention.

In the drawings: ,Figures 1 and 2 show in side elevation. andin plan, respectively, avsimple type of mobile dusting apparatus which includes a. dust distributor constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal or axial section through the distributor;

Figure I 4 shows in side elevation, partially broken away, the ,rotoror directing-member. of the distributor, as this member. would be seen ments maybe considerably varied without dewere it viewed from the direction indicated by the line 44 of Figure 3;. I I

Figure 5 is a, section on line 5-5 of Figure. 3;

and Figure 6 isa section on. line 6 -6 of Figure 3. The details of the mobile support for the dust- The detail of;construction of the ing mechanism may be varied widely, any wheeled support capable of carrying the operative parts of the dusting mechanism being suitable: The means for initially creating the stream of dustladen air which is to be distributed may likewise be varied within wide limits, but '1 preferably construct, this apparatus substantially in the manner disclosedii'in rriyg-prior patent, :previdu'sly referred to,"'tlie mechanism including a""hopper of an ofitake hose or conduit i4. 'Bolted to the inner margin of the annular plate 24 is a circular plate 30 which carries a sleeve 3|, which sleeve in turn supports spaced bearings 32 and 33 both of which are coaxial with the frustoconical portion 20 of the casing, Bearings 32' and 33 rotatably support a shaft 34 extending' axial-1y" of theifriistoconical" member" 2Bone end of shaft 34 extending'through an annulus 35 generally indicated at In to receive solid rnate- 7 rial in the form of dust or small granules, whic material is fed downwardly at a- -substantiallyf uniform but controlled rate into a chamber=con-=; taining a heater, the beater rapidlyrevolving and distributing the dust throughout';the chamber? A current of air passes rapidly throughjthe'idfu and air mixing chamber, being developed by,

the action of a centrifugal fanthe outer casing} secured to the outer end of sleeve 3| and having fixed thereon, as by a pin 36, a flanged sleeve 31,, ;At=;,-the opposite end of the sleeve 3| the bait is encircled by dust excluding means ineluding a fibrous washer 38 and a washer-conof which is indicated at H, the air picking up,

the dust generated by the beater and thecola umn' of rapidly moving air with its entrained dust passing into :the fan offtake l2, moving 'in thedirection of the arrow A, Figures toward the inlet port of the distributor,- which is generally indicated by the: numeral l3. l-Erom the distributor a plurality, of fiexibleofitake conduits 'I4lead, to-theyseveral nozzles -l5 -;by meansof which -thegseveralzsrapidly flowing 1, and 2, 7

streams offidustdaden'; airare directed upon/the 7 plants to be dusted, certainof these plants,.ar

ranged in rows, being' indicated'rxby the-numerals l5. Whi1e'the nozzles l-5,=;;by means of which the streams ;of dust-Jaden; air" areactually Edi-1 'rected upon the plants'tobe dusted may -.vary

*widelyein construction, Ivprefer'to :form these nozzles intthe manner described and claimed in my pending application,: Serial No. 394,184; ,filed May 19, 1941; having found-these nozzlesto'be particularly efi'ective'in'actual use; The'nume 'ber of nozzles employed'is immaterial insofar as the action of theimproved distributor :is'concerned, it' being only necessary to provide one distributor outlet 'port for' each nozzle and to provide one connecting flexible tube or l'iose 'l l between eachisuch= distributor outlet-port and the associated nozzle.

By referring-more particularly lac Figures 3 to dot the drawings the details of construction of the distributor may be more clearly-perceived.

It comprises a frusto-conical'casing'20 within the smaller end ofwhich-is positioned and securely fastened a concentric hollow cylinder or sleeve 2|, the outer "end of 'is provided with a peripheral flange 22 by -n'i'ans of'which, andsuitable'bohs or other connecting' 'elements,

flange 23 jon'the end of the fanonblower ll. The'opposite end of the frusto-conical casing 20*is provided with an annular flange 22a and to this flangeis bolted or otherwise suitably secured an'annulus 24 in which .55 the casingmay be firmly attached to 'ajsimilai' the'ofitake duct P2 of "are formed acircular1seriesof outlet ports" 25, V

theinletporti .A counterweight-is-indicated at v4 53,"beinguat= 'tached to theshaft34 in such position as to 'counr attachment-to'thedistributor of the inlet end '75 finin "annulus "391.," The opposite end of shaft v H 4 Vwithin'thejtube or sleeve 2| and is shown to be provided with a plurality of vanes 40 which,

,riwhen subjected 'to the action of a rapidly flow 'in stream of dust-laden air, will be so acted upon as to spin the shaft 34 in its supporting bearings.

Also-mounted onshaft 134: is a rotor or directing member 42. This member may be described as being-generally'tubular in form'and as extending from the inner end of the tube-or sleeve ,Z I- to ;the immediate proximity ,ofsthe annular I plate 24 in which the outlet ports- 25 are formed. 7

Asshown in Figures 3 andrfi aPOlftiOnofjthis rotor ordirecting. member, which portion is :in-

dicated, at 43;'-.issubstantially;flat and extends a diagonally of the axis ofcasinglllfrom-a:point close to plate :24Pto .a'point adjacent'thei inner end of .tube 2| shaft-J 34 extending through a suit ably formed aperture in plate 43; and plate '43 being-attached to-shaft 34in any suitable manner as for instance by circular weld 414'.

V 1 It is a function of the deflector platef43 to inter cept the-stream of incomi g gas-laden airpassing through tube 2-l andtodirect this stream laterally, as indicated bythe-arrows in Figure-:3.

That portion of the directing member; 42 1 which lies .tothe -right ofthe line, a;-b,- Figure, 3, is in the form of a close'dtube -the end being truly. cir oular with its edge ofiset outwardly slightly from the circular end of the tube 2|, as shown in Fig.- ure 3, while that portion of the directing member 42-which lies to the left of the line a;.b,=or toward thelarger end of' the distributor; isin the form of a tubeone side of :which is open; -Meniber 42, of course, rotates with shaft 34 when "shaft '34 rotates and the direction of rotation of shaft and'directing member is indicated'by the arrow B in Figure5 and by thearrow-C in'Fi'gure 6..

By reference to these figures it will be observed that, while that end of; the directing member 42 which lies'closest to plate 24 may still-fbe gen 'erall designated astubularin form, its trailing or following side'is open so that any dust la dent airwh'ijch flows through this portion or member '42 toward plate 24* Inay not only escape through its open'end but ma likewise escape to the rear, flowing outwardly into the interior of easing v20 through the space between the curvedjguardsjn and 41. Hence'it is-"qlear thatwhile thedirecte ing member 42 guides the lincomingjstreamof dust-laden air toward th'ports 'zithe interior of this member is in constant open communication withthe remainder of the-space within=- the distributor casing 20 so that ;-at no time is, any

one of, the ports, 25 out -of communication with terbalance .the. generally tubular: directing member 42 whioh isialso attached to-othe shaft-,; in

order that there shall be little or no vibration when the distributor is in operation.

In the operation of the dusting mechanism of which the novel distributor comprises an essential element, a stream of dust-laden air will be discharged through the discharge duct ll of the fan I I at high velocity, as previously set forth. This stream, during its passage through tube 2| into casing 20 passes the vanes 40 mounted on shaft 34 and imparts a rapid whirlin motion to the shaft and to the attached directing member 42 secured thereon. The dust-laden air passing through directing member 42 will escape from the open end of this member, or through the opening in its side so as to pas into the interior of the casing through the passage between the guards 46 and 41, thus having access to all of the discharge ports 25. When the leading edge of the discharge end of the directing member 42 is disposed as shown in the drawings, particularly in Figure 4, this inclined portion of the directing member will also act as a vane, being thrust forwardly by the action of the dust-laden stream and imparting increased velocity or rotation to member 42. In any event, by the means illustrated, or by an external driving means acting upon shaft 34 without the casing, a rapid rotation is imparted to the shaft and directing member, causing the open discharge end of this member to sweep over ports 25 in rapid succession, discharging dust-laden air directly into each port as it passes over the same, any excess dustladen air, however, being permitted to freely flow to the other ports.

That portion of the space within casing 20 which lies without the directing member 42 will, as a result, be filled with dust-laden air at all times, under positive pressure, and streams of dust-laden air will constantl flow through all of the ports 25 and all of the flexible ducts l4 to all of the nozzles l5. Naturally there will be some slight pulsation in these streams successively as the member 42 revolves since when the discharge end of this member is in register with any one port 25 there is direct passage, for an instant, of dust-laden gas directly into this port at a velocity higher than that at which the dust-laden gas is flowing into the other ports 25, This slight amount of pulsation, however, is beneficial, tending to maintain the dust in suspension. The rapid action of member 42 prevents segregation, in fact it not only prevents segregation, but it acts as a second beater, redistributing dust uniformly throughout the air stream in any case in which the dust in the incoming stream has been segregated. When an apparatus of the type described is employed as an element of a dusting implement any number of nozzles may be employed with the assurance that each nozzle is going to be supplied with dust-laden air in sub stantially the same manner and amount as every other nozzle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to, be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A distributor for dust-laden gases comprising a casing having a relatively large inlet port and a circular series of relatively small outlet ports, a generally tubular directing member mounted for rotation about a fixed axis, the inlet end of said member being in constant register with the inlet port and the outlet end being eccentric to said axis and disposed to register successively with said outlet ports as said member rotates in one direction, the trailing side of said member being cut away adjacent the outlet end thereof, and substantially parallel guards projecting rearwardly from said member for momentarily confining dust-laden gas escaping through the open side of said member.

2. A distributor for dust-laden gases comprising a casin having a relatively large inlet port and a circular series of relatively small outlet ports, a generally tubular directing member mounted for rotation about a fixed axis, the inlet end of said member being in constant register with the inlet port and the outlet end being eccentric to said axis and disposed to register successively with said outlet ports as said member rotates in one direction, the trailing side of said member being cut away adjacent the outlet end thereof, and curved guards springing from the lower end of said member on opposite sides of the lateral opening therein for confining momentarily over theports of said circular series, dust-laden air escaping through the open side of said member.

3. A distributor for dust-laden gases comprising a casing having a relatively large port for an incoming stream of dust-laden gas and a plurality of relatively small outlet ports, and a rotor within said casing having a single tubular deflector rotatable about an axis, for directing the incoming stream toward said outlet ports successively, said deflector having an aperture of large size in its rear wall adjacent the outlet end thereof whereby the interior thereof is in constant communication with all discharge ports of the distributor.

4. A distributor for dust-laden gases comprising relatively rotatable housing and directing means, the housing having a relatively large inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports spaced from the inlet port, the directin means being generally tubular, having one end in constant register with the said inlet port and its other end positioned to register.successively with said outlet ports, the trailing side of said directing means, adjacent the delivery end thereof, having an opening of relatively large area formed therein, thus causing the interior of thedirecting member to be in constant communication at all times with the several outlet ports of the casing.

5. A distributor for dust-laden gases comprising a casing having a relatively large inlet port and a circular series of relativel small outlet ports, a generally tubular directing member mounted for rotation about a fixed axis, the inlet end of said member being in constant register with the inlet port and the outlet end being eccentric to said axis and disposed to register successively with said outlet ports as said member rotates in one direction, the trailing side of said member adjacent the outlet end thereof having an aperture formed therein so as to maintain communication at all times between the interior of the directing member and all of the outlet ports of the casing.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which the leading side of said member is so formed and disposed that a current of dust-laden gas passing therethrough will impart a forward motion of rotation to said member.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 in which vanes rigidly connected to said member are positioned to be acted on by the incoming gaseous stream, whereby rotary motion is imparted to said member.

' GEORGE S. MESSINGER. 

